Residents who want to try a fresh activity for spring can find it at the Cowart Family/Ashford Dunwoody YMCA in Brookhaven.

Executive Director Julie Koriakin said “there is always something new going on,” like a session starting May 20 in the gym.

“We have a new competition cheer program called Dunwoody Diamonds,” Koriakin said about a 12-week course coached by Tracy Stovall of St. Pius X.

The session running Feb. 19 through May 19 recently thrilled its participants and their proud parents, she said.

“They actually just performed with the Atlanta Hawks cheerleaders,” Koriakin said.

Practice began March 18 at Dunwoody High School for the Spirit Track Club, a recent addition that last year sent two 8 and under team members to the nationals in shot put and running.

Day camp starting May 28 will bring days of “games, swimming, arts and crafts, and outside activities” to children age 3 to 16, Koriakin said.

Swim Session 3 began April 1 and continues through May 18, including a new adaptive swimming program for special-needs children overseen by Aquatics Director Tiana Duncan.

In the fitness studios, the ongoing Core and More fitness class kicked off the spring with a new instructor, Heather Walther-Dever.

Children’s Zumbatomic classes begin April 17, and ongoing classes include variations on the popular Zumba cardio dance form.

“Zumba Tone is a Zumba class but it includes light hand weights so it enhances the toning aspect. We added that in March,” Wellness Director Amie McDougal said. “One of the new classes that is also making its way is the Zumba Gold class for seniors. We’re getting an easy 20 people every Tuesday. It’s lower-intensity, easier on your joints and the movements are a little slower.”

New to some participants this month will be the return of a 1999 fitness program developed by New York fitness expert Stacey Lei Krauss.

“We just brought back the ‘willPower & grace’ class,” McDougal said. “It’s a full-body, barefoot cardio sculpting workout with the intensity of boot camp. It combines the self-awareness of yoga and the discipline of Pilates.”

In the Mac computer lab, a new program may plant the seeds of recording and film careers.

“We have our youth technology program, which is media arts for kids 12 to 18 where they make their own electronic music using GarageBand software and video editing production using iMovie,” Koriakin said.

Other life skills classes include cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillator training April 20 and May 18.

The Salvation Army in Doraville began hosting the facility’s free, bilingual early learning readiness program for Spanish-speaking families.

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